Dec 14

Gameweek 12 Captain Tips - Fantasy Premier League Tips

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Gameweek 12 Captain Tips - Fantasy Premier League Tips.

It's form vs fixture vs odds in this week's captain tips for Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 12. This week we compare in-form Chelsea duo Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, Merseyside pair Philippe Coutinho and Romelu Lukaku and - now both seem to have returned from international duty unscathed - Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez.

This week we have shaken things up in the captaincy tips section and experimented with a slightly different system. Instead of taking form by each player's last four fixtures, we're looking at their home or away form based on their fixture. The same goes for fixtures themselves - defences have now been sorted by their home or away form. This should better represent teams like Burnley or Leicester City, who fare a lot better at Turf Moor or the King Power respectively. Finally, the table at the end - which takes both the fixture and form into account - has been tweaked to favour the form column. While this by no means it guarantees a player on a red-hot streak will come out on top, it should mean that a player who has an easy fixture but can't hit a barn door has less influence. After all, the golden rule is ‘form over fixture', right?

Which player is in the best form?

# Player Home Away Fixture
1 Sanchez 6 14 14
2 Aguero 2 11 11
3 Lukaku 8.5 4.25 8.5
4 Costa 6.5 8 8
5 Hazard 9.25 5 5
6 Coutinho 9.5 4.75 4.75
In the previous iteration of this table, Eden Hazard was top by quite a margin. His 19-point haul at home to Everton saw him rack up an average of 12.25 points over the last four games. It is worth noting, however, that the Belgian has scored five of his six goals at home and failed to score away at a leaky Hull side. Alexis Sanchez, on the other hand, has been in lethal form on the road. The Chilean has amassed double-figure hauls in visits to Watford, Hull City and Sunderland, suggesting he perhaps benefits against sides more likely to attack in home comforts. Sergio Aguero is another player who performed better on his travels. It is surprising to see Aguero - a player who used to register huge hauls at the Etihad - has failed to score more than nine points in a home match yet has scored braces in three separate away games. Those who own both Eden Hazard and Diego Costa may consider captaining the Spaniard despite Hazard's electric form. The bullish striker seems to save his best form for away games and has picked up seven out of his ten bonus points on the road - possibly as a result of his teammate failing to score in those games. Philippe Coutinho's away form makes him one to ignore in the form stakes, with an unspectacular 4.75 points per game paling in comparison to his peers.

Which player has the easiest fixture in Gameweek 12?

# Player Vs Goals Conceded Big Chances Conceded
1 Lukaku SWA (H) 9 17
2 Aguero CRY (A) 7 7
3 Hazard MID (A) 5 6
4 Costa MID (A) 5 6
5 Coutinho SOU (A) 4 4
6 Sanchez MUN (A) 4 3
Unsurprisingly, Lukaku comes out on top in this fixture table against a Swansea City side that don't seem to be improving much under new manager Bob Bradley. The Swans haven't won since the opening day and have registered four consecutive losses on the road, conceding nine goals and a huge 17 big chances. Those who don't own the big Belgian can find solace in Aguero's weekend matchup. Despite a promising start to the season, Crystal Palace are slipping down the table fast and have picked up only four points from a possible 15 at Selhurst Park. Last week we hinted Middlesbrough shouldn't be underestimated and they proved it by limiting City to one goal, although Pep Guardiola's side should have scored more. They boast a decent defence at home having let in five goals in their last four, although there is a chance of Costa or Hazard popping up with a goal. Finally Coutinho and Sanchez face fairly stingy defences in Southampton and Manchester United. Claude Puel's defence found some steel a few weeks ago and may be able to welcome Cedric Soares back as they look to recover from a shock loss to Hull. Jose Mourinho is likely to defend deep against Arsenal and it could be difficult for Sanchez to get any opportunities.

Who is the best captaincy option for Gameweek 12?

# Player Form (*2) Fixture (*1.5) Total
1 Aguero 4 3 7
2 Lukaku 6 1.5 7.5
3 Sanchez 2 7.5 9.5
4 Costa 8 4.5 12.5
5 Hazard 10 4.5 14.5
6 Coutinho 12 9 21
After doing away with odds, we felt we needed to do something to the weightings of the form/fixture columns to reflect that a player's form will usually have more of an effect on their returns than an easy fixture. We therefore chose to multiply the form column by 2 and the fixture by 1.5 - enough to show a bias to form but not enough that playing a particularly leaky defence would be discounted. With that in mind, FPL favourite Aguero comes out on top. The Argentine has scored six goals in four away games this season, making him our choice for the armband. It will be interesting to see if this scoring continues against more difficult sides. Lukaku just misses out despite having the most favourable fixture. He is still a great option - particularly for those who shipped Aguero a couple of weeks ago - and his manager Ronald Koeman will be expecting an improved Everton performance after their thrashing at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago. Sanchez places third in the table thanks to a series of huge away hauls. It is worth noting the easy away fixtures the Chilean has managed these against however and we don't expect him to repeat the same against what should be a stubborn United defence. Costa and Hazard rank lower as they face up to a Middlesbrough side who have successfully shut out the league's big boys. It is possible they score lower as part of the sample is taken before their upturn in form since switching to a 3-4-3 formation, and those backing the Blues to score a few should look at the Spaniard who has performed better than his teammate away from home. Coutinho is at the bottom of the pile for both form and fixture and looks the least likely of our six to deliver points. Bearing in mind Adam Lallana is ruled out from the fixture, Liverpool may not be as free-scoring as usual against a decent Southampton side. [alert type=yellow ] Read: Five Tips For Gameweek 12[/alert]